The scenery with my little sister

After locking the door, Suzuka jogged
towards me with brisk steps and started walking by my side. Normally,
we would’ve split up to go our separate ways to our schools, but
that has changed now.

“Ehehehehe, the weather is nice
today.”

In response to Suzuka’s gleeful
laugh, I simply gazed up at the sky. There were no clouds in sight,
and you could see some sakura petals blowing around in the breeze.
Even though it was the same sight as April of last year, the
circumstances had changed completely.

“The temperature is perfect, and the
fresh air feels good…”

Of course, the reason for this
difference was nothing other than the fact that Suzuka was currently
walking next to me. Although I understood the concept that she would
be attending the same school as me, I would still need some time to
get actually used to it.

…How do I say it? Something feels
weird.

Of course, it’s not like I hate the
idea of going to the same school as Suzuka. I think it’s just that
I’ve never experienced something like this with her. After all, in
middle and elementary school, my parents (especially my old man) had
doted on Suzuka, so we were always in different schools. That’s
why, even though this shouldn’t have been that big of a deal, I
just can’t help being conscious of her. Especially since our
relationship had been rather cold and distant up until a few months
ago.

“…What’s wrong, Onii-chan? You
seemed to have quite the troubled expression on your face.”

“Eh? Ah, no! It’s nothing!”

…That being said, Suzuka for her part
doesn’t seem bothered by it at all. She really has a calm
personality.

Since I was apparently the only one
embarrassed about going to the same school as my sibling, I tried to
stop thinking about it.

“You shouldn’t make such a face on
a beautiful day like this, you know?”

“Y-Yeah. But you really seem
happy today, don’t you?”

“Of course. After all, I can finally
go to school with Onii-chan—”

Suzuka hurriedly snapped her mouth
shut.

“With me?”

“A-Ah, no, uhm…!”

When I pressed her on it, Suzuka
flailed her hands around with a red face.

“T-The weather is so nice, and in the
middle of that, I can go to school with Onii-chan, so of course I
wouldn’t feel bad. T-Though, the most important part of it is how
the weather is so nice, and going together with Onii-chan is just
secondary, okay?! There’s no deeper meaning to it!” After saying
that, she averted her gaze. “…Onii-chan, do you hate the idea of
going to school with me?”

“A-As if that would be the case.”

“T-Then, you should be making a
happier face than that.”

I felt a bit startled that Suzuka was
the one telling me that. Truth be told, despite feeling a bit weird
about it, I was also happy that I was able to go to school with her
like this. After all, Suzuka and I had only made up a little while
ago, so I couldn’t help but feel impressed that we would be able to
do something like this again.

…Of course, there’s no way I could
tell her that straight to her face. Why, you ask? …That’s simple.
It’s way too embarrassing, and equally dangerous. What do you think
would happen if I said that out loud and came out as a siscon? She
would definitely look at me with blank eyes, saying something like
“Let’s make this a one-time thing…” with a frigid tone and
cross the street to get away from me. If something like that
happened, I would cry. Totally.

And even though I had these feelings
within me…

“S-Suzuka?” I said in surprise.

“T-This is for my research.”

Suzuka suddenly took a hold of my hand.
It was troublesome precisely because she didn’t know how I was
feeling. Of course, I knew very well that she was acting like this
only for her light novel, but it could still cause a lot of
misunderstandings.

…But it’s fine for now, I guess.

I’m quite satisfied with this
situation myself. Walking on the same path to school, eating lunch
together at school, going home together after school— even though
this kind of student life had only started a few days ago, it’s
already become completely natural.

“~~~~~~♪ ~~~♪”

Like that, I continued gazing at the
pleased Suzuka’s profile while we walked, and it really felt like
our time as siblings had returned. It was fine to not think too
deeply into it, and just enjoy this daily life as best as I could…

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, a new, strange feeling took
hold of my mind. Though her height hadn’t changed at all in the few
months since she’d graduated middle school, Suzuka looked a lot
more grown up while wearing our high school uniform.

…T-That’s weird? Even though I’ve
seen Suzuka like this countless times, my impression of her seems
different. How to I say it… Rather than cute, she now looks even
more beautiful…

Though I didn’t hear the last part
since she whispered it, I acknowledged her statement and lowered my
head with an “I’m sorry.” Now that she’s attending the same
school as me, I can’t cause any problems for her by being a lousy
older brother.

“I-If you understand, then that’s
fine… And also, about today’s research—”

Suzuka changed the subject, and started
telling me about her plans for after school while still tightly
holding my hand. While I watched Suzuka’s gleeful smile, I somehow
felt a different heat inside me, different from the warmth I usually
felt.

Part 2:

“D-Don’t just go home without me,
okay? It’ll be over soon! …Really, why did I have to be called
over by our homeroom teacher…”

“That’s because you were the only
one who forgot to bring in your spring break homework.”

“I couldn’t help it, I was busy
with my job!”

The person complaining like that while
pouting was my classmate, Himuro Mai, who was still in my class this
school year, despite the class rotation.

After classes and homeroom had ended,
she had immediately walked over towards my seat. However, she was
called to the teacher’s office by our homeroom teacher since she
hadn’t turned in her spring break homework in time.

“Just when I thought that I would do
some research for my new novel with Yuu…!”

“That’s the first I’ve heard of
this, though?! Don’t just decide to do things without the
permission of the person you plan to do them with!”

“I-I’m doing it out of my own
selfishness, so it’s fine! Anyway, you’d better wait for me!”

Only leaving those words behind, she
dashed out of the classroom. In response I let out a sigh. Since that
rom-com competition had ended, I thought that her stalking activities
would lessen (if only slightly), but instead, her selfishness only
increased. She even said something like “Since Suzuka-san also
entered this school, I don’t have the time to relax!”, to which I
could only stare at her in confusion. I didn’t plan on playing
along with her games, so I hurriedly got up from my seat to escape.

Just then, the classroom suddenly got
more noisy.

“Ah, Onii-chan…”

When I looked to see what it was,
Suzuka was peeking reservedly into the classroom from the hallway.
The reason for my classmates’ uproar was her, of course. The person
in question didn’t seem to notice them at all, and entered the
classroom after she made eye contact with me.

“You were late, so I came here. So,
in regards to what we talked about earlier, please treat me well.”

Naturally, she said that with a bright
smile, to which the other students around us made even more of a
ruckus. Unable to stand the stares around me, I hurriedly grabbed
Suzuka and pulled her with me out of the classroom.

“Hm? What happened, Onii-chan?”

“Why aren’t you noticing that—
no, nevermind.”

I gave up on explaining to her that she
was a presence that stood out. Even if I told her, she would probably
give an indifferent response. If the person herself didn’t mind,
then I might as well save my energy.

And even if I told her, there’s
nothing she could do about it, because frankly, she’s a beauty. And
not just any average beauty, but the word “super beauty” is
basically hanging over her head. Not to mention that she got top
grades in the entrance exam, and she’s the representative of the new
students, so she’s gotten enough attention from that alone. Of
course, the fact that she came from Hakuou doesn’t help at all, so
in just a few short days, she’s become like a celebrity both among
students in her year as well as among her Senpais.

…You might be getting the picture by
now, but my little sister is too perfect… And since we were often
together, everybody quickly found out that I was her older brother.
Even though the new school year had just barely started, I was
already being constantly questioned about her. I was constantly being
asked to introduce people to her and that sort of thing. And since I
also had Mai also clinging to me, you can imagine the stares of envy
I garnered from the boys.

…Ahhh, I don’t want to think about
that…

Even though all of that should’ve
calmed down by now, as you can see, just her coming to my classroom
caused a ruckus.

“I don’t really get it, but please
cheer up… W-We’ll be researching after this, you know,” Suzuka
complained without knowing about my struggles.

This was just the duty of my perfect
little sister’s older brother, so I decided to leave it alone for
now.

“And when you say ‘research,’
what exactly do you have in mind?… Um, I’d really like it if you
would hold back from walking around school grounds with your arm
linked with mine…” I dejectedly said while remembering the
‘research’ from a few days ago.

“I-I can’t help it, can I? In the
next volume, the setting will be a high school student life. I have
to collect data on as many lovey-dovey events as I can.”

Once she said that, I had no other
option as her stand-in but to give in. Even though Suzuka was the
super-popular light novel author Towano Chikai, she wants to raise
the quality of her novel even more, which is why we’re always doing
these sorts of things.

…Well, even without that, I wouldn’t
decline a request from my little sister. It’s my duty as her older
brother, you know?

“A-Also, today’s research isn’t
about that. I just want you to come with me to look at the different
club activities.”

“Club activities?”

“Yes. Since a new school year started
and there’s new students, a lot of the clubs are holding various
events for us to get a better look at their activities. That’s why
I wanted to check them out together with Onii-chan… Ah, o-of course
only because I plan on adding a scene like this in the new novel!”

…I see, she’s right about that.

I was so busy writing light novels that
I completely ignored all of the clubs here, but I heard that some of
them had some really cool stuff to show.

“…A-Also, lots of people will be
there, so I can prove to them how close Onii-chan and I are…! And
if Onii-chan and I were to join the same club, there would be so many
more chances to be flirty with him…!”

“I see. But, you don’t plan on
joining any clubs, do you?”

“Hya?! W-What is it?!”

“Hey… I asked if you had any
intention to actually join a club…”

“N-No, not necessarily. But, as the
class representative, I still have a duty to at least show my face at
a few clubs.”

I see, there’s also that. Whether she
joins or not, it’s very much like Suzuka to take it seriously.

“I understand. If it’s like that,
then let’s go.”

“Y-Yes! Please treat me well!”

Saying that, she suddenly jumped onto
my arm, grasping it tightly.

“Wai—?! W-Why this position?!”

“D-Don’t misunderstand! This
research is called “The siblings are lovey-dovey while looking at
all of the different clubs,” so it’s not like I’m trying to
show everyone how close we are, okay?!”

“W-We’re going to look at the clubs
like this? You already stand out, so wouldn’t that only attract
more attention…?”

Ugh… she really is far too
hardworking for her own good. But that’s probably the reason why
she’s able to write such an interesting novel.

“I-I get it. But let’s not do
anything that could cause any weird misunderstandings, okay?”

“…No, that’s actually my goal
with this…”

“Eh?”

“I-I-I-I-It’s nothing at all!
Anyway, let’s go!”

“Ah, whoa!”

Without giving me an answer, Suzuka
just dragged me along. Of course, as we passed other students along
the way, I gathered gazes that hurt in a lot of ways, but I could
only resign myself to let it happen.

And like that, we arrived at the school
club building. Just as the title suggested, it was the place where a
lot of the clubs met, and since a lot of clubs were in the middle of
their open-house events, a lot of club members were present.

“Haaaah… so these events were this
lively…”

“They should’ve done this last year
as well, so Onii-chan should know about it already, right?”

“No, I never actually went to check
them out. I didn’t have any interest in clubs, after all.”

While Suzuka and I were talking to one
another, the people around us noticed us.

“I-Isn’t that the first year
Nagami-san…?”

“R-Really? So she came to check out
the clubs.”

“Woah! We have to get her to join our
club!”

“Hey, don’t steal her from us!”

“And she’s here with her older
brother…”

While I was overhearing these
conversations, I realized that a lot of students had gathered around
us.

….Well, it’s not like I didn’t
expect it. Though that last person’s tone of voice kinda pisses me
off for some reason.

“W-We’re the baseball club.
P-Please become our manager…!”

“No, please join the basketball
club!”

“Won’t you play tennis with us?!”

“We’ll aim for nationals if you
join the track-and-field club…!”

“T-The sumo club…”

A lot of different sports club members
suddenly closed in on Suzuka. Though some club activities aren’t
exactly made for girls, the club members seemed to be in a trance as
they desperately tried to make her join. Even the other new first
years watched the situation, saying things like “If Nagami-san is
going to join, then I will too…!” or “Which club will she
join?” and other such statements, showing their curiosity.

“…Sorry, but I have to decline.”

However, Suzuka declined this flood of
requests slowly and politely.

..S-She really is amazing. Dealing with
this situation while being so calm and collected…

Though polite, she had enough strength
in her words that none of the members tried to bother her anymore. In
the end, I was amazed at the ritual of people coming to her, only to
drop their heads as they walked away.

…I had expected this, but Suzuka
really is popular with the boys. They look at her like she’s an
idol or something. Really, I wish they wouldn’t look at her with
those eyes… It doesn’t sit right with me.

“Fufu, we can finally advance,”
Suzuka was wearing a bitter smile by the time the path in front of us
finally cleared up.

“That really was crazy… And all the
boys who got turned down were glaring at me enviously…”

“Glaring?”

“N-No, it’s fine if you don’t get
it. Anyway, let’s check out some of the other clubs we haven’t
seen yet for your research.”

Hearing my words, Suzuka nodded.
“That’s right.”

With that, we went towards the deeper
part of the club building. Suzuka still was holding onto my arm the
entire way, which kept attracting glances from all around, so I gave
up on paying attention to it.

“Over here are the culture clubs and
female sports clubs, I see.”

Just as Suzuka had stated, the more we
walked forward, the more the atmosphere changed. It was a different
kind of liveliness than the male sports clubs before had. Of course,
the fact that Suzuka (and me next to her) were gathering a lot of
attention didn’t change.

“So, is there any club you’re
interested in?”

“No, I also don’t have all that
much interest in joining—”

While the two of us were talking…

“Ah, it’s Nagami-san.”

“It is!”

“No way! I will get her to join our
club!”

Just like before, a wave of students
came rushing towards us (Suzuka).

…Suzuka’s popularity is even this
high with the girls, huh? This reminds me of when Suzuka was called
‘Onee-sama’ at Hakuou.

—That’s what I pondered while
trying to withstand the noise of all the girls around us. She will
surely politely decline their invites just like before, or so I
thought…

“Um um, I also have a request for
Nagami-kun?”

“Can you help us persuade
Nagami-san?”

“Ah, good idea!”

For some reason, their attention was
also directed at me.

“Eh? What’s this about?”

“Like I said, I want Nagami-kun to
beg his little sister to join the softball club.”

“Unfair! No, Senpai, ask Nagami-san
if she would join the volleyball club…!”

“No, the archery club is the perfect
choice, so if you would.”

“Ehhhh?!”

All of a sudden, it had become my job
to persuade Suzuka.

“H-Hey, wait! That’s really
troublesome for you to ask me to do that! There’s no way that
Suzuka would join your clubs if I asked her, you know?!”

“Why? Nagami-kun and Imouto-san are
pretty close siblings, right? I think that she would listen to her
older brother if he asked her.”

…D-Don’t just selfishly decide
that…! As if I would be able to affect her in any way! My influence
over Suzuka is low enough already…!

“Ehe, ehehehe… We are close
siblings, aren’t we…?”

“Why are you blushing?!”

However, the person in question didn’t
exactly react like how I had expected.

…No, acting in character for her
research is fine and all, but this clearly isn’t the time to be
acting like that, you know?!

In response, all the other female
students only started pressuring me even more. Not to mention that
suddenly a girl wearing a leotard, who was probably a part of the
gymnastics club, suddenly appeared right in front of me and clung to
my body.

“I beg you! If it’s Nagami-san, she
will surely become a wonderful athlete.”

No, that’s not important right now!
Something very dangerous is hitting me!

The person in question probably didn’t
realize that at all as she continued to beg me. The sensation I was
concerned about was almost directly transmitted to me through her
thin leotard.

“Ehehehehe… Wait, Onii-chan?! What
are you doing?!”

“That’s my line!”

When Suzuka came to her senses, she was
glaring at me with a red face. Though I replied with a desperate look
on my face, and asked for her help, she only strengthened her grip on
my arm in response.

Instead of caring about your research,
do something about this situation already!

—Then it happened.

“Ahhhh! So this is where you were!”

Just when I thought that I was hearing
a familiar voice, everyone present turned around. The person who
greeted us was…

“M-Mai?! Why are you here?!”

“Because I was searching for you, of
course! I told you to wait for me, didn’t I?!”

“…Mu, Himuro-san. W-What is this
about, Onii-chan?”

“Ah, Suzuka-san is with you? I made a
promise with Yuu to go do some research after school.”

“O-O-O-O-Onii-chan?”

“I don’t remember that promise!
She’s just making that up!”

“T-That’s not true! I properly
asked! I said ‘I’m going to do some research, so prepare
yourself!’”

“I never gave my okay to that, and
that sounds more like an order than a request!”

“…A-Also, what are the two of you
doing here?”

S-She’s ignoring my response…!

“We are looking at the different
clubs. O-Onii-chan went out his way to come with me. At the same
time, we’re doing some research.”

“Wha—, r-research, you say…!”

In response to what almost sounded like
bragging from Suzuka, Mai replied with a bitter expression. But she
immediately changed her expression and it seemed like she had just
thought of something…

“T-Then I have an idea. I’ll do
research with Yuu too while we’re checking out the other clubs!”

“Ehh?! T-That’s…! The
research is supposed to only be with me…!”

“So with that being decided, I’ll
come with you.”

This time it was Mai who boldly stated
that with a confident grin, while Suzuka’s body shrunk with an
“Uuu…!”

Of course, my opinion was completely
disregarded. I was starting to wonder if this was just part of being
a stand-in.

“Hey hey, what’s this about?”

“I don’t really know what they mean
by ‘research…’”

“But, with this, maybe Nagami-kun can
persuade Himuro-san to make her join a club…?”

“W-What did you just say?!”

At that moment, the girls who had been
confused by Mai’s sudden appearance started blurting out things
like that.

…Ah, I’m getting all sorts of bad
vibes now.

And of course, all the club members
closed in on me once again.

“Hey hey, if you were to listen to my
request, I might even give you some one-on-one service, you know?”

The next second, a girl wearing
cheerleading clothes with considerably big breasts came over, grabbed
my arm, and pressed her breasts against me. Feeling that soft
sensation on my arm robbed me of any words.

“W-W-W-W-What are you doing?!”

“Yuu! What kind of indecent things
are you asking for! I’m totally okay with it…!”

“Now now, I’m the captain of the
cheerleading club, you see, and it seems like Nagami-kun is quite the
fan of it. How about you join our club so that you can make him fall
in love with you?” said the club president, still pressing her
breasts against me with a teasing grin on her face.

It was a clear provocation. She’s
trying to use me as bait to get the two of them to join. Since her
ruse was so obvious, I was sure that neither of them would fall for
it—

“I will be provisionally joining the
club!”

“M-Me too!”

“Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!”

“…And why exactly did you take that
bait?”

“I-I couldn’t help it, could I?
It’s Onii-chan’s fault for being seduced like that! Reflect on
it!”

Suzuka was glaring at me with a
bright-red face. Though I wanted to reason with her, it was true that
I had let my guard down because of the sensation of that girl’s
breasts… But that’s not exactly within my power to control, you
know?

“W-Well it’s fine. This will just
go into my data for our research,” Suzuka said, as she looked down
at her cheerleader outfit

.

After what happened, we had borrowed
cheerleading uniforms and went out to the practice area.

“That’s true. Since this outfit is
one of Yuu’s favourites, it might not be a bad experience.”

At the same time, Mai also came with us
under the pretext of her “Research,” also wearing a cheerleading
uniform.

“No, it’s not like I’m a fan of
those clothes, you know…” I said.

“Do you hate them, then?”

…Again, why do all the girls around
me argue with that kind of logic?

“Hehehe, how nice how nice! Both
Nagami-san and Himuro-san are super amazing beauties, so if you were
to join, our club would be unstoppable!”

In the meantime, the club president
walked up to us, clearly scheming something with an evil grin on her
face.

“I knew it was the right choice to
invite Nagami-san and the others. Hehehe, how about I give you some
more service?”

“My position will only suffer from
all this, so I have to wholeheartedly decline!” I replied.

…Ugh, I’m clearly being used here.
But I guess that testing out a club like this wouldn’t be bad for
Suzuka’s research, would it?

“So what exactly should we do?”

“That’s right. I’ve seen it a
couple of times, but I don’t have any experience.”

Both Mai and Suzuka looked down at
their pom-poms.

“Since it’s cheerleading, you
obviously have to cheer for someone. Let’s see, how about you just
try it here and now?”

“…What exactly should we do?”

“Ah, try cheering on Nagami-kun here.
Just do whatever comes to mind.”

…M-Me?

When I looked at her in confusion, the
other two twitched in response. They had satisfied expressions on
their faces.

“I-I see, cheering for Yuu. If that’s
it, then I’ll try… Cough, now then, do your best for me!
I’m cheering for you, Yuu!” said Mai, as she pointed the pom-pom
in her right hand at me.

Well, the fact that she had tears in
her eyes and a red face, as well as that good-for-nothing feeling
that I get from her, makes me think that she’s at least a bit cute.
But I’d better hold back from saying that.

Suzuka for her part tried the casual
approach, but she kept hiding half her face with her pom-poms. Even
so, you could clearly see that she was blushing all the way to her
ears, and it was clear that she was trying her best.

“How nice! Beauties like you really
shine at everything they do! See, Nagami-kun, because of them, you’ve
gotten so much positive energy now!”

“No, it’s not like I… And, is
this really fine? I thought that cheerleading was a bit more… um,
intense?”

“Well, they’re just trying it out,
after all. And the thought is what counts. But they might as well
experience the real thing,” the president said, as she put her own
pom-poms over her hands. “Cheerleading is a sport that heavily
relies on movement. There are a lot of ways to move, but the most
important one would be jumping, I guess.”

Just as she had said, she lifted her
hands up and started jumping up and down. Her pom-poms and skirt were
fluttering, and her two big breasts were shaking like jelly—

“O-O-O-O-O-Onii-chan?! Why is your
gaze suddenly glued on her?!!”

“T-T-T-That isn’t the case, okay?!”
I hurriedly averted my gaze.

…That was totally unfair!

“Hehehe. Well, like this, we try to
grab attention with our movement. Now then, how about you two try?”

First I watched Suzuka. Nothing. Then
Mai. Jelly-like shaking.

“H-Hey, Yuu! Where are you looking!
You really are a sex-crazed devil! B-But, just this once, I’ll
forgive you!”

I unconsciously focused my gaze on her,
and when she realized that, Mai’s face went red while she said
these sorts of things.

….She’s glaring at me, but isn’t
there a hint of happiness mixed in there?

“O-Onii-chan…!!!”

When I heard that cold voice, I
stiffened up. When I looked at her, Suzuka had a bitter expression on
her face and tears in her eyes. Although she tried her best to
continue jumping, nothing besides her ponytail was actually shaking.

“Let’s see, there’s one called
kicking, where you lift up your leg like this,” the president said,
and did so, pulling up her leg with both of her hands.

Ohhh, cool. She managed to stretch her
leg above her head.

…That’s great and all, but in that
position, I could clearly see under her skirt. Well, she’s wearing
special underwear, but still.

“…Onii-chan?”

“I-It’s nothing at all!? H-How
about you try this next?!”

Of course I had to cover my gaze… And
why is Suzuka so sharp when it comes to this sort of thing…?!

Though she still didn’t seem
satisfied, she copied the president’s movements. When she did, she
managed to stretch her leg about as high as the president had before,
so of course we were all surprised.

“Ohhh, amazing, Nagami-san! Your body
is so flexible!”

“It’s not that difficult at all.”

Though Suzuka said it like it was
something completely easy, I was still in awe. Just what you would
expect from a perfect superhuman. When Suzuka realized that I was
looking at her in admiration, she continued with a gleeful smile. Of
course, there was also embarrassment mixed into my feelings, since
her skirt was lifted up.

She landed on her butt and rubbed it
with tears in her eyes. But, my attention was immediately captured by
her skirt, which was not hiding her pure-white panties anymore—

“…Eh? White…?”

“H-Himuro-san?! Why are you only
wearing panties?!”

“Eh?”

Suzuka almost screamed at her, while
Mai only frowned at her in confusion. When she realised the position
she was in, her face went red immediately.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaa?! W-Where are you
staring?!”

“I-I wasn’t staring or anything…!
W-Why don’t you wear the special underwear?!”

“Eh? S-Special underwear?”

…T-This girl! She didn’t know about
that?! No, even if she didn’t, why did she still do all those risky
moves with that miniskirt!? How clumsy can you be!?

“U, uuu… I was seen by Yuu…! My
panties…! Y-You, you really are a sex-crazed devil!”

“Why am I the one at fault here?!”

“Muu…! I was the one who did it
better, so why does Himuro-san get all the attention from Onii-chan…!
I-If it’s come to this, I will try something else!”

“Ohh, that’s what I want to see,
Nagami-san!”

“Then, next is—”

“W-Wait a moment, will you!? I can
also keep going! I need to get Yuu’s attention or— Nevermind!
This is for my research!”

“For now, how about Himuro-san puts
on the special underwear!”

“Ohhh, Himuro-san is also getting
fired up! …At this rate, I might even get the two of them to join…
Hehehehe, then, let’s try to entrance Nagami-kun even more!”

“Like I said! Can you not pull me
into this?!”

…And that’s how it went.

Even after that, both of them were
weirdly motivated, “trying out” various positions and moves. To
be fair, I didn’t need to be there, but somehow a competition
started to try to get my attention, so I wasn’t allowed to run
away…

“Hey! Hey! Onii-chan!”

“I’ll give you a reward for working
so hard! T-Though, anything erotic is a no-go!”

They were getting more and more heated
up. I was even starting to wonder if they remembered that we were
here for research. As I had no way of knowing, I could only let out a
sigh. And the next words that the club president gleefully said to me
certainly didn’t help.

“They’re the best! I really have to
get these two to join the club! In order to achieve that, Nagami-kun
also has to join, alright? The cheerleader club that is, of course!”

Part 3:

Of course, we didn’t join the club.

…After all, they only joined
temporarily for research. Luckily, both Suzuka and Mai were able to
remember that in the end.

“I’m back…”

“We’re home.”

Our voices rang alone inside the empty
home. Just a while ago, a scene like this would only happen when I
went to pick up Suzuka from Hakuou, but since we were actually coming
home together every day, this situation had become the norm.

“…Why is Onii-chan so tired? You
were only watching, after all,” Suzuka asked me while taking off
her shoes.

…Because you were forcefully
pulling me along, of course — is what I wanted to say, but
Suzuka would probably only give a rebuttal like “Please pull
yourself together.”

“Ahh… And how did that research
turn out for you?” I asked her as I changed into my house slippers.

One way or another, this is the most
important thing, after all. If she told me that it was a failure and
that we would have to redo it, I would probably die.

“Y-Yes. let’s see. Though
Himuro-san interrupted us mid-way, I did manage to flirt with
Onii-chan… O-Of course, only for the research!”

“I’m glad to hear that. With this,
your next volume will be just as good as ever.”

“N-No, there’s still a lot of
research left for these kinds of high school events, so we will have
to continue. Being lovey-dovey — no, excuse me. I mean, you can
never do enough research, after all.”

“S-Seriously…” I found myself
unconsciously sighing in exasperation.

…Well, if it helps raise the quality
of Suzuka’s novel, then I have no other choice but to help her out.

“B-But still, I will have no problems
writing the newest volume. I’m making good progress, so there’s
no need to worry, Onii-chan.”

“…I see.”

Whatever the case, her work is moving
forward at a steady pace, so that’s all that matters. She seems to
be in good spirits, so if she says she’s fine, then I can relax.

“By the way, how is it going on
Onii-chan’s side?”

“Me?”

“I’m asking about the work that
you’ll be submitting for the next light novel contest. How is your
progress coming along?”

“That’s not really anything you
should have to worry about…”

“J-Just like Onii-chan cares about my
novel, I also care about what Onii-chan is doing. U-Um, we are
siblings after all, so of course I would worry.”

Though Suzuka averted her eyes, clearly
flustered, I did understand that she actually cared. Ever since we
made up, Suzuka has been slowly but steadily working to close the
distance between us.

“I-Is that so? That’s great. Then,
I’ll go back to my room and work on my novel.”

With slightly flushed cheeks, Suzuka
went on her way.

Was she flustered?—I thought.
I followed suit and went back to my own room.

“Now then…”

I changed out of my school uniform,
started up my laptop, and booted up my writing software. Of course,
it wasn’t to work on my light novel contest submission, but rather
to figure out what kind of novel I should write next. That’s right.
At the moment, I wasn’t working on any novel. After all, even now,
I still couldn’t figure out what kind of novel I really want to
write.

“A while ago, I told Suzuka that she
only has to write what she really wants, but I don’t even know what
that is for me…”

That’s exactly why I have to find the
answer to that as fast as possible.

…To be honest, it isn’t going as
well as I had hoped. I wrote about hundred different attempts so far,
but I immediately understood that none of the had the ability to
actually win the contest.

“Mmmm… Probably a battle novel…
Maybe that’s the best genre for me… Hmmm…” I muttered, still
continuing to press buttons on the keyboard.

That being said, it’s not like I’m
suffering or anything, this is just necessary so that I can become a
proper light novel author like Suzuka. While I was having these
thoughts, I glanced at the wall in front of me. On the other side,
Suzuka was currently also working on her own novel. In order to catch
up to her some day, I have to give it my best to write the type of
novel that suits me the best.

“Hmmm… This is… No, but…”

Like that, time passed until it was
midnight.

Though it was quite surprising to find
out that Suzuka would be attending the same school as me, even as we
constantly kept doing research for her, I’ve started to grow
accustomed to this situation. If our days continue going on like
this, things will surely calm down. Suzuka is working hard both as a
fresh high school student and as a light novel author, and it’s
certainly not like I’m suffering under these circumstances.

Basically, the spring of my second year
in high school has had quite the calm start, is what you could say—

…or at least that’s what I thought
at the time…

Part 4:

“Some friends of yours are coming
over to play?” I asked.

It was on holiday around two weeks
after Suzuka had started attending my school. While I was relaxing in
the living room, Suzuka suddenly spoke to me.

“Yes… What’s wrong? You look like
you’ve seen a ghost,” She answered.

“N-No, uhm, by ‘friends,’ do you
mean yours?”

“…I don’t know what you’re
trying to ask with that question. Is there any other meaning besides
the literal one?”

“You actually had friends…?”

The moment I said those words out loud,
I could see Suzuka’s eyebrows twitch, and all human emotion
vanished from her face.

“Onii-chan…? What did you mean by
that…?”

“N-No, don’t get me wrong! I’m
sorry! I didn’t mean it like that…!” I hurriedly apologized.

Those words had just slipped out of my
mouth before I could stop them.

…But, you know. I would like for you
to think about my position. The words “Suzuka” and “friends”
never had any relation to one another in my mind. When she was still
in middle school — attending Hakuou, she was indeed something like
a celebrity. But that was more like “respect” and “worship”
rather than actual “friendship,” or at least that’s how it felt
to me. Of course, there’s no way I knew absolutely everything about
her friendships and whatnot (because that would be rather creepy,
after all), so maybe there really are people she could call her
friends. But, as far as I know, she had never brought anyone like
that home. That’s why I just couldn’t picture Suzuka actually
bringing friends over.

—Basically, I thought something like
Does she actually have any friends like that…? But there’s
no way I could say that out loud…

“Somehow, it feels like Onii-chan is
thinking something incredibly rude.”

“T-That’s not the case, you know?!
…It’s just, um… It’s so unexpected… or something like
that…”

“W-What do you mean by ‘unexpected?!’
Do I seem like the kind of girl who wouldn’t be able to make
friends?!”

“I-I said that’s not it! When you
were still in Hakuou, this sort of thing never happened, after all!”

“Muu, you certainly aren’t wrong
about that. But everyone was living in a dorm over there, so there
was never a need for them to actually come over to play, and we
could’ve just used the lounge there if we wanted to meet up.”

Ahh, she’s right about that.

“Cough Anyway, I managed to
make some friends. And in order to deepen our friendship, they will
be coming over. They really wanted to see my house…”

“I see. All right, if that’s it,
then I don’t mind,” I responded, completely relieved from the
bottom of my heart.

I was really happy to know that Suzuka
had managed to make some friends. It’s not that I don’t believe
in her ability to make friends, but it’s more like I was afraid
that other people would see her as an unobtainable flower because of
her superhuman status.

“Alright, then, I’ll try to act
accordingly so that I don’t shame you as your older brother.”

“No, that’s not necessary. After
all, I want Onii-chan to stay in his room while my friends are here.”

“……Eh?”

While I was in a state of shock, Suzuka
followed up with a “That’s why I came here to ask.”

“Ehhh?! W-What do you mean by that?!”

“Like I said, I don’t want
Onii-chan to show himself while my friends are over.”

Suzuka’s words echoed inside my head.

…Ooooohhhhhh! T-This phrase hurts
more than anything else…!

“W-Wait… N-No matter how much of a
useless older brother I am, isn’t that a bit too harsh…?!”

“…? What are you saying, Onii-chan?
And why are you close to crying?”

“I-I mean, you’re so embarrassed
about me being your older brother that you don’t want your friends
to see me, right…?”

Ahhh, saying it out loud makes me want
to cry. Well of course it would!

“Wha—?! Y-You’re wrong! I didn’t
mean that!”

But Suzuka just turned red and started
panicking.

“I-I didn’t mean it like that…!
I’m always talking about Onii-chan to them…! If they were to talk
to Onii-chan face-to-face now, there’s a one-in-a-million chance
that towards Onii-chan, they might actually…! U-Uhm…!”

Since I was completely in the right
here, Suzuka couldn’t say anything in response. But there was
another reason. As her older brother, I wanted to at least have a
brief glimpse at what kind of friends Suzuka would be bringing over.
I can’t imagine that Suzuka would make friends with weird people,
but I still am a bit worried.

“Mumumu… But, making them meet
Onii-chan directly is still dangerous…!”

“Dangerous in what way?! I’m just
greeting them! Anything other than that would just be rude, don’t
you think?!”

“Kuuu…! Onii-chan is using logic
for once…!”

What’s with this reaction…? Is your
opinion of me really that low…?

Though Suzuka hesitated for a bit, she
finally let out a sigh, apparently giving up.

“…I understand. It’s just as
Onii-chan says. A greeting should be fine.”

It seems like Suzuka finally was
satisfied… Though she still didn’t seem to like the idea.

Around 30 minutes later, Suzuka’s
friends arrived. Suzuka and I went to the entrance to greet them, but
they let off a very different atmosphere than I had expected.

“Welcome, Kaede and Kotomi. This is
my Onii-chan.”

“I-It’s nice to meet you. I’m
Suzuka’s older brother, Nagami Yuu.”

When I was introduced by Suzuka, I
followed suit with a short bow.

“It is good to meet you. My name is
Nikaido Kaede. Since I want to become even better friends with
Suzuka, I hope to get along with you.”

With a dignified expression, the girl
called Kaede gave a very polite greeting.

How do I say it? She gives off a very
serious atmosphere and has a straight posture. Along with this, her
black hair makes her almost look like a samurai.

“I’m Shiina Kotomi. Fufufu, so this
is Suzu-chan’s rumoured big brother, I see,” said the other girl
while showing a gentle expression on her face.

She seemed rather tall for a first
year, and she looked pretty grown-up for her age. Her long,
fluffy-looking hair stretched down to her waist, and if she looked at
you with a smile, anybody would probably get flustered with how
charming she looked.

…S-So these girls are Suzuka’s
friends, huh? Not to mention that they’re both very good-looking.
Is this a character trait of Suzuka’s, to attract other beauties
like her?

“Onii-chan…? Why are you just
staring at them…?”

“Eh?! N-No, I wasn’t staring or
anything…!”

I really didn’t plan on doing so, but
I completely froze up when I noticed Suzuka’s cold stare. Seeing
that, Shiina-san let out a small giggle, and Nikaido-san just glared
at us.

…A-Anyway, it seems like the two of
them aren’t bad girls.

Realizing that Suzuka was glaring at
me, clearly telling me to leave now that I had achieved my goal, I
excused myself and went back to my room. When I glanced back at them
for a second, it felt like Nikaido-san’s and my eyes met for a
second before she entered Suzuka’s room.

…Was that just my imagination? Well,
whatever.

“Now then, just as Suzuka asked me
to, I guess I’ll shut up and stay in here.”

I entered my room and sat down in front
of my PC. I was going to work on my own novel anyway, so she didn’t
even have to tell me to stay in my room—

…Ahahahahahaha….! D-Don’t
tease me like that…! Fufu, Kaede…

“………”

From across the wall, I heard gleeful
voices from Suzuka and the others, to which I unconsciously lifted my
head. I didn’t think that it was a bother or anything. On the
contrary, I felt weirdly happy to hear voices coming from Suzuka’s
room. Since they seemed to really be having fun over there, I thought
that maybe a comedy or slice-of-life novel wouldn’t be too bad
either, but as soon as I went to type on my keyboard again…

“Hm? Who is it now?”

In that moment, the chime at the
entrance rang, signifying that someone else had arrived. I stopped
typing again. Since I didn’t want Suzuka’s fun to be interrupted,
I took it upon myself to answer it.

“Ohhh, Sensei! Hello, desu!”

“Hello Sensei. Your cute, favourite
pupil is here.”

“…I-I’ll just say this upfront,
but I was forced to come here, okay?”

But as soon as I opened the door, I was
at a loss for words. After all, the people who greeted me were Ahegao
Double Peace-sensei and the Kanzaka sisters.

“D-Double Peace-sensei? And
Akino-san, and the younger Kanzaka sister…? W-Why?”

“We came over to play of course,
desu! It’s our precious holiday, after all!”

…I see. This was the same reason as
usual. Though normally I would just sigh in response and be satisfied
with that, the circumstances were different this time around.

“I bought lots of other cosplay that
I want Imouto-san to try, desu!”

“H-Hey, Double Peace-sensei! Pssst!
Psssst!”

“Eh? A urination play? E-Even I’m
embarrassed about that, desu…”

“Y-You… you’re a hardcore
pervert…”

“You’re wrong! I’m telling you to
keep it down! Suzuka has friends over right now!”

“Suzuka-san’s friends?”

For now, I brought everyone into my
room and explained the situation.

“…And that’s why I would like you
to keep it down. I don’t want to bother Suzuka and her friends,
after all.”

“Oho, I see, desu. But, I’m
kind of interested in Imouto-san’s friends, to be honest. I really
want to introduce myself, desu!”

“That won’t do!”

There’s no need to introduce them,
anyway. If we told them about Double Peace-sensei being an
illustrator, we would eventually have to explain about me (although
as a stand-in) being Towano Chikai. Since she’s keeping that a
secret at school, we have to protect that no matter what.

…And if they thought that I was
Towano Chikai, they would think that I wrote that novel…

‘The story about a little sister who
loves her big brother way too much to cope.’ What would people
think about Suzuka if they found out that her big brother wrote such
a novel…?

“Anyways, that’s an absolute
no-go.”

When I stated that with a serious face,
Double Peace-sensei hesitated for a bit, but finally…

“I understand, desu. If it’s like
that, then I can’t help it.”

She gave affirmation with her usual
smile. All in all, she’s the kind of person who understands when
it’s something serious.

“…Well, introducing ourselves
wouldn’t do us any good, either…”

“Now that Suzuka-san is away, we can
monopolize Sensei.”

Since the Kanzaka-sisters also seemed
to understand, I was relieved from the bottom of my heart.

“That’s right, desu. This is
actually the perfect chance! While Imouto-san is out, we’ll enjoy
ourselves with Sensei!” Double Peace-sensei suddenly started taking
off her clothes. In response, the Kanzaka sisters and I started
panicking.

“Wait! W-What are you doing?!”

“Eh? I mean, I’m going to put on
the cosplay I brought with me, desu. And in order to put that on, I
would have to change, right? So I have to strip first, desu!”

“A logical conclusion.”

“Don’t just agree with her,
Onee-chan!”

The younger Kanzaka sister tried to
stop the half-undressed Double Peace-sensei, while Akino-san only
nodded in agreement.

…Why did everything turn chaotic the
second they arrived?

While I was watching the scene in front
of me unfold…

“W-What are you doing in Onii-chan’s
room?!!!”

Suzuka, who should’ve been having fun
with her friends next door, suddenly opened the door and jumped into
the room with a bright-red face and tears in her eyes.

“S-Suzuka?! You… Shouldn’t you be
talking with your friends…!”

“As if I could do that while hearing
all this ruckus from over the wall!!!”

—Eh?! She could hear everything we
said?! Wait, that makes perfect sense! I could hear their
conversation earlier, too! Am I an idiot?!

“S-So, what kinds of indecent things
have you been doing while I wasn’t watching, Onii-chan…?!”

“No no, we didn’t do anything of
that sort, desu. I was just about to change into my cosplay here,
since I couldn’t do it in Imouto-san’s room.”

“Wha—?! And Onii-chan was just
watching while grinning like that?!”

“Not at all! And Double Peace-sensei,
don’t start pouring oil onto the fire!” I desperately tried to
gain control of the situation.

However, neither of them looked like
they were really listening to me, so I only could think of one way to
get out of this.

“…I-I’m sorry! I promise I’ll
keep it down…! So, hurry up and go back to your friends. Leaving
them alone would be bad, right…?”

“Muuu…! D-Don’t do anything weird
anymore, please!”

Though Suzuka still didn’t seem
satisfied, the moment I brought up her friends, her body twitched,
and she stomped back to her room. When the door finally closed, I let
out a relieved sigh. But, since it was my fault to begin with, I had
to reflect on it.

“…Well, you see how it is, so any
ruckus is prohibited. Of course, cosplay is also prohibited.”

“Hm, then what should we do, desu? If
I’m like this, I can’t show Sensei my panties while playing
twister.”

“A-Ahi, you were thinking about that?
…Ah, that’s why you told us to wear skirts?!”

“Why else?” said Double
Peace-sensei, to which the younger Kanzaka sister pulled down her
skirt with a red face.

A-Anyways, I’m glad that her terrible
plan was thwarted.

“Sensei, Sensei.”

While I was busy thinking that,
Akino-san suddenly tugged on my sleeve.

“Mhm? What’s wrong, Akino-san?”

“How is it?”

“Eh?”

She suddenly stood right in front of
me, and like a model from a fashion show, she spun around on the
spot. I didn’t know what she wanted to hear from me in response to
her perplexing question.

“…W-What are you doing?”

“I wanted Sensei to look at me. How
is it?”

“Again, what do you mean by ‘How is
it?’”

When I responded with another question,
Akino-san’s expression didn’t change, and she only let out a
disappointed-sounding “Mu.”

“Sensei really is dense. I’m not
the same as always. Now, I’m going to a women’s university.”

“Ahhh, I see. You became a university
student this spring, didn’t you?”

Now that she had reminded me, I
remembered. Just a little while ago, Akino-san was a third-year in
high school.

“That’s right, a women’s
university. A place brimming with adult female charm. That’s why,
as your beloved pupil, I want to hear your impressions on my new
look.”

“Ehhh…?”

…Even if she says that, she still
looks like the usual Akino-san to me. She has her usual small
stature, her usual expressionlessness, and her usual concise way of
talking. Her movements were still the same, and as far as I could
see, there wasn’t anything that looked different. It was the same
Akino-san as before.

“Now that I’ve become an adult, I
might actually excite Sensei without meaning to, fufufu.”

However, without knowing what I really
felt, Akino-san just continued to snicker.

…T-This isn’t good. I know what
kind of answer she’s expecting from me, but that would be a blatant
lie, and it would be very unpleasant to say.

While I felt a cold sweat forming on my
forehead, Double Peace-sensei suddenly raised her voice with an “Ah,
that’s right desu!”, thankfully changing the topic.

“I came with a new eroge we’ve
finished, desu! Let’s play it together!”

Of course, what she said didn’t help
me in any way, but only made the situation even worse.

“Y-You want all of us to play eroge?!
Ahi, is your head really okay…?”

“Now now, Runa-chan, I just
remembered because of Kino-chan’s words. The heroines in the game
are all students at a women’s university, and since it was just
released recently, I wanted Sensei to play it soon, so let’s do
that right now, desu!”

“Ahi, nice idea. With this, Sensei
will surely realize my charm. And accepting him even if he pushes me
down is the duty of a pupil.”

“Youuuuuuuuuuuuuu! You’re thinking
of doing that just because you’re Onee-chan’s teacher?!”

“Why am I the one at fault here?!”

And just like that, chaos erupted once
more. From out of nowhere, Double Peace-sensei had suddenly brought
out an eroge and a laptop, while the younger Kanzaka sister tried to
stop her with a red face. While booting up the game, Akino-san
continued to pull on my clothes, trying to grab my attention, but I
had already given up at this point.

—Now, I think that anyone could
probably guess what happens next…

BANG!!!

“….O-Onii-chan?!”

The door opened with a loud bang, and
Suzuka entered emanating a black aura. Double Peace-sensei was on my
right arm, Akino-san was clinging to my left arm, the younger Kanzaka
sister was clinging to my leg, and the laptop screen was showing the
title of the eroge. No matter how you looked at it, I wouldn’t be
able to talk myself out of this.

“W-What are you doing————?!!!”

“C-C-C-C-C-Calm down!!!”

Of course, at the same time as that
scream rang out inside the room, Suzuka immediately stepped in to
separate me from everyone else. When I tried to reach out with a hand
to stop her—

“Kyaa?!”

“Uwaa?!”

With how unstable I was, and with how
forcefully Suzuka was striding towards me, we both fell over and
landed on the floor. Before I had realized what had happened, I saw
Suzuka’s face looking up at me. She was laying down face-up on the
floor, being embraced by me. When I looked around, I saw Double
Peace-sensei and the Kanzaka sisters looking down at us. And, in the
open doorway were…

“Arara, you really are close.”

“Wha—?!”

Shiina-san, who had one hand on her
cheek, was letting out a gleeful giggle, and Nikaido-san was staring
at us with wide eyes.

“Uuu… Onii-chan…”

…Why did it have to come to this?!

Part 5:

“Haaaaaaaaah~~~”

I walked down the street illuminated by
the setting sun, a plastic bag from a convenience store in hand.

“Suzuka’s probably still mad, isn’t
she?”

Letting out another big sigh, I started
walking even slower. It was a vain attempt to give Suzuka some more
time to calm down.

To be honest, I really don’t want to
recall what happened after all of that.

…Well, to put it simply, I somehow
managed to cover it all up. Me embracing Suzuka was nothing more than
an accident. Double Peace-sensei and the others were just friends of
mine. Of course, we skipped right past the introductions, and just
sent everyone home with the excuse that it had gotten late. Though
Suzuka was incredibly mad, she somehow managed to calm herself down
enough to keep up appearances until everyone was gone.

“W-While I wasn’t watching, you…!”
or “My friends even saw us…!” or “Ah, but, he was hugging
me…” were all things she muttered to herself while glaring down
at me. Since Suzuka didn’t seem like calming down anytime soon, I
decided to give her some space. I left the house, deciding to take a
trip to the nearest convenience store.

“For now, once I get home, I’ll
apologize once more…” Saying that to myself, I continued to walk
home with heavy feet.

And once that home of mine entered my
view, something else that shouldn’t be there greeted me as well,
and my feet stopped.

“…Huh? Who’s that?”

I saw someone walking around in front
of the house.

…Don’t tell me; is it an
intruder?!—is what I thought at first, but soon after, a quiet
“Ah” leaked out of my mouth. After all, I recognized that person
as Nikaido Kaede-san, whom I had just met a few hours ago.

“Um, is something wrong?”

Though I didn’t know why she was
still in front of my house, I decided to call out to her.

“?!”

When I did, Nikaido-san hurriedly
turned around. When she realized that I was the one calling out to
her, her eyes opened wide.

“Y-You’re Suzuka’s older brother
— N-No, Nagami-senpai?!”

“You were Nikaido-san, right? Did you
forget something?”

“N-No, it’s not like that…! Ugh,
to be seen in a place like this…!”

For a second, Nikaido-san had an
expression like she was blaming herself for something, only for her
to straighten her posture and look straight at me.

“Excuse me for that. I was being
careless. As a swordsman, I couldn’t be more embarrassed.”

“N-No, it’s not something you
should be too hung up on… Wait. A swordsman?”

“Yes. My family has a long lineage of
martial arts.That’s why I’ve walked the path of a swordsman from
a very young age.”

“I-Is that so…?”

I was a bit overwhelmed when she told
me that with a straight face.

…A lineage of martial arts… That’s
why I got that samurai-like feeling from her before.

Wrapped up in Nikaido-san’s rather
unknown atmosphere, I felt myself calming down for some reason.

“…Um, so why were you still here?
Should I call for Suzuka?”

When I said that, Nikaido-san looked
like she was flustered for a second.

“Ah, no… Actually, there was
something I wanted to talk about with Nagami-senpai.”

With me? — I tilted my head in
confusion.

“Yes. There is something that I had
to ask no matter what. Of course, it’s about Suzuka.”

“Something about Suzuka? Me?”

In response, Nikaidoo-san nodded.

…I wonder what it is? I-It’s not
related to Towano Chikai, right? Knowing Suzuka, she wouldn’t allow
herself to make such a blunder…

“So, Nagami-senpai, are you aware of
Suzuka’s reputation in school?”

“Eh? Reputation? …It’s not
anything bad, right?”

“Of course not. Suzuka really is a
wonderful girl. She has a calm, dignified composure, but isn’t cold
to anyone. She has a firm resolve, but she’s kind if needed. She’s
beautiful, cute, and everyone looks up to her as a role model.”

“O-Okay…”

“There is no trace of bias in her
eyes. Everyone is equal to her, and she even offered to spend time
with someone as stuck-up as me. For me, Suzuka is a friend of
friends!” Nikaido-san’s eyes were sparkling.

…Well, how do I say it? It seems like
she really looks up to Suzuka. But I don’t think that she’s
exaggerating, because that’s just how much of a superhuman Suzuka
actually is.

“I couldn’t be happier from being
able to meet Suzuka and become friends with her.”

Though her words seemed more energetic
than rational, I was still glad that she thought of Suzuka in this
way.

“Is Suzuka’s reputation really that
good?”

“‘Good’ is something of an
understatement. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to say that every
single student in our grade looks up to her. Nobody would say
anything bad about her.”

“I see, I see! Well, that makes
sense, doesn’t it!” I strongly nodded in response to her words.

Of course I would use this opportunity
to boast about my little sister!

“Obviously, that is the same for boys
and girls alike. That in itself wouldn’t be so bad, but immediately
after the start of the year, there seemed to be no end of confessions
from all kinds of boys. Though that seems to have calmed down
lately.”

“W-What did you say…?!”

“Do not worry, she has rejected every
single one so far. After all, she won’t be led astray by those weak
actions.”

Hearing that, I was relieved from the
bottom of my heart.

…Suzuka accepting a confession like
that was something I didn’t even want to imagine.

“Anyway, just like I said, Suzuka is
a very wonderful person. And to me she’s a very important friend.
That’s why I want to deepen our friendship even more.”

I was really thankful that she felt
that way. As her older brother, I felt like thanking her for that,
myself. I’m glad that she has found friends like this…

But while I was busy thinking that,
Nikaido-san continued talking with a serious face.

“However, that’s exactly why I
cannot stop worrying about her.”

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

“What is there to worry about?”

“…That is something I would like to
ask of Nagami-senpai.”

Her eyes narrowed, and Nikaido-san
looked straight at me.

“Nagami-senpai, there isn’t
anything weird going on between you and Suzuka besides being
siblings, right?”

“…Eh? E-Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!”

Being surprised by this question, I
couldn’t help but let my voice out.

“Ah, a weird relationship?! W-What’s
up with that? Of course not! W-Why would you even think that?!”

It might be obvious, but I was
panicking.

Of course, it’s not like she’s
completely off-base, considering the whole stand-in part of it, but I
think she’s asking about something else?!

But Nikaido-san watched me with an
unapologetic expression and continued.

“There’s a rumour like that going
around. It’s like you two seem to be very close, even for
siblings.”

…W-Was there really a rumour like
that? Why would something like that…?

But after thinking about it a bit more
deeply, I immediately realized why.

…T-There’s no mistake! It’s got
to be because of our ‘research’! It’s because we’ve been
acting all lovey-dovey at school for Suzuka’s next novel!

Holding hands while walking home,
eating together in the cafeteria while feeding each other, crossing
arms while checking out the clubs—

…Of course people would get the wrong
idea!

Naturally, that doesn’t mean that we
have a weird relationship, but the fact that we did all of that
remains reality.

…But to think that a rumour would
start going around because of that…!

“So what is it, Nagami-senpai?”

Nikaido-san asked me again, forcing me
to return to reality.

…T-That’s right, this isn’t the
time to be panicking! Otherwise she’ll get the wrong idea! I don’t
care if they judge me, but I don’t want Suzuka to suffer from any
weird rumours!

“L-Like I said, we’re just normal
siblings…! There’s no weird relationship between the two of us…!”

But, I couldn’t summon enough
conviction when I said that statement. After all, we’ve been acting
lovey-dovey, so in order to clear up that misunderstanding, I would
have to tell her about Towano Chikai. And there’s no way I could do
that.

“I don’t want to believe it either.
However absurd it is, there must be a reason for that rumour, don’t
you think?”

Yes, I know exactly what it is! …Ugh,
but I still have no other choice but to lie!

“And there was also that incident
before… T-Taking that sort of position with Suzuka…! T-There has
to be limits on how indecent you can be!”

“Again, that was nothing more than an
accident! An unlucky accident!”

“Don’t tell me… You do things
like this on a regular basis?! Just how low do you have to be to do
things like that with your little sister?! I won’t allow you to lay
your hands on Suzuka!”

“I won’t! It’s just a bad
misunderstanding! It’s a false charge!”

“Hah! You’re probably using her as
a substitute since no girl would ever fall in love with you, right?!
D-Don’t come any closer! I-If you dare do anything improper to me,
I would rather bite my tongue and die!!!”

“Can you not go imagining things all
on your own?!”

While Nikaido-san glared at me with a
red face, I could only retort with tears in my eyes.

…W-Why am I being treated like the
scum of the earth again?!

“E-Excuse me, I took it too far.”

“Really…”

“A-Anyway, if you really sink your
poisonous fangs into Suzuka, then I will cut you down right then and
there!”

“That really will never happen! And
I’ve explained it countless times already, haven’t I!?”

All that gratitude I felt for her
becoming Suzuka’s friend was suddenly gone, and now she seemed to
be a complete bother.

“Ahhh really, just how can I make you
understand…?”

“I-It’s not like I want to believe
any rumours like that…”

So the basis for my denial is too weak
for her to believe it. Is there any way I could make her believe me?

“You know, there’s no reason for me
to put my hands on Suzuka, don’t you think?”

I didn’t even understand why she had
just asked me that. I wanted to deny it immediately, but I realized
something.

…Ah, if I told her that I liked
someone else, would she believe me? I can totally use this!

Of course, I didn’t have a girl that
I liked. After all, I prioritize my dream of becoming a light novel
author above getting a relationship. And there’s also the problem
with me not being popular.

…Would it really be okay to lie here?
I mean, if I don’t, Nikaido-san probably won’t be satisfied, and
Suzuka might suffer from the weird rumours that are going around. Not
to mention that nobody would really care if I actually had a crush on
someone.

“…That’s—”

That’s why I have to do this.

Though Suzuka’s face suddenly entered
my mind for a second, I shook my head, and spoke the words that I had
decided upon.

Part 6:

“Haaah… I really hate myself…”

I rolled around on my bed, tightly
hugging my pillow. The reason for that was of course the incident
from earlier. Since I couldn’t trust Onii-chan to not be
lovey-dovey with Double Peace-san and the others without my
supervision, I ended up forgetting about my friends and entered his
room.

“B-But, they were all clinging to
each other… Playing such an indecent game…!”

Of course, I couldn’t approve of that
situation, so I don’t feel any regret about that… However, I
think that I’ve gone too far.

I’m sure that Onii-chan wasn’t the
one at fault at all, and he was probably just forced to go along with
what Double Peace-san’s and the others were doing. Even so, I only
blamed him. As soon as I see him with another girl, all the blood
rushes to my head…

“B-But Onii-chan really should pull
himself together a bit more! He already has a girl like me next to
him…!”

That’s right. Now that we’re
attending the same school, we’ve been able to be even more
lovey-dovey, although under the pretense of research. If only
Onii-chan would start only looking at me, I wouldn’t have to worry
like this… If that were the case, I could introduce my friends to
him without any problems.

“W-When Onii-chan and I become
lovers… and a married couple in the future, ehehehehehe…!”

Of course I want to brag to my friends
about how Onii-chan is the world’s coolest big brother, but I
cannot do that just yet. If, in the one in a million chance, they
also realize how cool he is… Ahh, I don’t even want to think
about it…!

“…Uuuu, I have to properly
apologize when Onii-chan comes home…”

I’m sorry Onii-chan. I actually love
you so much. That’s why I don’t want you to be taken away by
anyone else. I want you to only look at me. Could I even say
something embarrassing like that out loud?!

Burying my face into my pillow, I
continued to roll around on my bed. But I have to prepare dinner
soon, so I’ll get up now.

I’ll make some of Onii-chan’s
favorite food today, I thought, but that’s when it happened.

“Huh? Onii-chan and… Kaede?”

Coincidentally, I looked out of the
window, only to see Onii-chan and Kaede talking in front of the
house.

Shouldn’t Kaede have gone home
already?— I titled my head in confusion. Since their
conversation looked a little interesting, I hurriedly rushed down to
the first floor. And, when I went to open the door to ask them what
they were doing…

“Nagami-senpai, do you have any girl
you like besides Suzuka?”

My hands stopped. I had opened the door
just enough to hear that question, but I stopped, my heart almost
leaping out of my chest.

…O-Onii-chan… a girl he likes?!

Though I didn’t know how their
conversation had led up to that question, I held by breath, waiting
for the answer. Since I almost couldn’t hear them because of my
annoying heartbeat, I moved a bit closer.

…W-What are they talking about?

“…That’s—”

While I was at a loss, their
conversation continued. And, when I heard Onii-chan’s voice, my
heart skipped a beat once more.

“……Yeah, I do.”

And, when Onii-chan’s answer arrived
at my ears, I could feel all the blood draining from my face.

…Eh? W-What did he just say?
O-Onii-chan has a girl he likes…? I-It’s me, right? It has to be
me? Ah, but, didn’t Kaede just say ‘besides Suzuka’? So
basically, does this mean… What? Eh?

“I have a person that I like! And of
course, that person isn’t Suzuka!”